Drop-down breech-loading gun.



L. B. TAYLOR. DBO]? DOWN BBEEOH LOADING GUN. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 24, 1907.

913 784. Patented Mar. 2, 1909.

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L. B. TAYLOR. DROP DOWN BREEGH LOADING GUN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24, 1907.

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LESLIE BOWN TAYLOR, OF BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

DROP-DOWN BREECH-LOADING GUN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March '2, 1909.

Application filed May 24, 1907. Serial No. 375,407.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LESLIE BowN TAYLOR, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Grange Road, Bournbrook, Birmingham, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drop Down Breech-Loading Guns, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to drop-down breechloading guns of the type known throughout the United States as the L. C. Smith gun, and the invention consists in certain improvements in said gun hereinafter set forth in detail, the invention having for its principal object to adapt to or combine with said L. C. Smith gun detachable lock-carrying plates such as are shown in U. S. Letters Patent No. 612,313, granted under date of October 11, 1898, to John Deeley and myself.

A further object of the invention is to provide suitable means whereby the cover-plate, which underlies the lock-carrying plates, may be held in position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide suitable means for holding said coverplate .in position, and to likewise provide means whereby the ejector hammers may be actuated when the gun is broken and the breech thereof thrown upward.

In the drawings: Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view of a breech-loading gun built upon the lines of the L. C. Smith gun and embodying certain of my improvements; Fig. 2 is a plan view as seen from the under side, the movable lock-carrying plate being shown in position in the upper portion and removed in the lower portion of said figure; Fig. 3 a side elevation of one of the detachable lock plates, the hammer being in its tired or discharged position; Fig. 4 a similar view showing the hammer in its cocked position; Fig. 5 a detail view of the main spring; Fig. 6 a similar view of the slide which is normally carried by a projection upon the main spring, and acts in conjunction with the ejector sear Fig. 7 a similar view of the sear spring; Fig. 8 a longitudinal sectional view showing a modified form of the invention; Fig. 9 a detail view of a modified form of the main spring shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 a detail sectional elevation of one of the ejector hammers and its allied parts; Fig. 11 an end elevation of the fore end of the gun; Fig. 12 a longitudinal sectional view of the gun, showing a modified arran ement for securing the cover-plate for the lock-carrying plates in position; Fig. 13 a transverse vertical-sectional view, taken on the. line 13.13 of- Fig. 12; Fig. 14 a perspective view of the rear end of the fore frame, the ejector hammers. and sears, the hammers being broken off; Fi 15 a perspective view of a portion of once? the lock-carrying plates, the main spring, :the slide carried thereby and the ejector sear operated by said slide; Fig. 16 a plan view of the gun as seen from the under side, showing a modified arrangement for holding the lock plates in position; Fig. 17 a perspective view of a portion of one of the lock plates employed under such construction; Fig.-18 a perspective view of the pivoted member employed to hold the lock plates in position, to retain the cover'plate in place, and elevate the lifting rods of the ejector hammers; Fig. 19 a side elevation of one of the lock plates, cover plate, and the pivoted member em ployed under the construction just noted, for holding the parts in position; and Fig. 20 a plan view as seen from the under side ofa portion of the gun showing the lock plates as arranged adjacent to the faces of the recesses formed in the gun for their reception, together with the means employed to hold the lates in position.

T e body of the gun is formed with:re

cesses A, for the reception of the detachable lock plates as shown in U. S. Letters Patent N 0. 612,313 hereinbefore referred to. In Fig. 2 but one of said plates is shown in osition. Each lock plate a carries theusua sear spring 1), shown in detail in Fig. 7, sear b hammer 0, dog or cooking lever d, and main spring 6. The sear spring I) is attached to the plate so as to lie in the same vertical plane as said plate. The main spring 6 has a sliding movement upon the plate a, which movement is utilized to effect the actuation of the retaining sears for the ejector hammers. The spring, shown in detail in Fig. .5, is provided with a laterally projecting pin 6 upon which is mounted slide g, Figs. 6 and 15, the front end of which comes into contact with the lower arm 72 of the ejector sear h, when the hammer comes to its fired position. Contact of the forward end of the slide with the member 7L2 turns the ejector sear so as to bring the upper arm thereof into engagement with the bent of the ejector hammer i.

To effect the lifting of the hammers i of the ejector-s on the o' ening of the gun,I extend the rear ends of the guide and lift rods i so as to project through the fore end and thereby obtain a direct action of the body on the rearwardly-extending ends of the guide rods 77 for the purpose of lifting the ejector hammers i above the retaining sears h.

The rear ends of the lock plates a are notched and engage with pins a on the inner walls of the recesses A formed in the body, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The front ends of said lock plates a are retained in position by projections formed on the fore end of the dog or cocking lever cl, which projections pass into slots d in the fore end of the gun.

Under the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 8, the cover plate f for the lock plates may be retained in position at its rear end by a sliding engagement with the body or bottom tang and secured to the body by a screw-pin, as shown in the U. S. atent referred to above. This, however, 18 not the preferred construction of the cover-plate and a detailed description of the preferred form will be hereinafter given.

In Figs. 8 and 9 a modification of the main spring construction is shown, wherein instead of employing a slide, as g, the spring is provided with an integrally formed nose or project'on e. The former construction is, however, preferable. Instead of forming the projection upon the dog or cocking lever d to hold the lock plates in position at the forward end, the construction shown in Figs. 12, 18 and 19 may be employed, which con struction likewise provides means for actuating the guiding and lifing rods 07 of the ejector hammers. Secured to the knuckle of the bodyby a screw m is a block Z, shown in detail in Fig. 18, which block has secured to its lower end a combined lifter and catch which is normally held in its depressed position by a spring k A nose or projection it formed upon said lifter coacts with the inwardly-projecting ends of the lifter rods 1' when the gun is broken and raises the lifter rods so as to free the ejector hammers from their retaining sears. Under this arrangement the dogs or cocking levers d are free when the hammers c are cocked. Extending outwardly from each side of the member 1c is a pin 70 which pins serve to retain the lock plates (1 in position.

In Fig. 16 the lock-plates are shown as positioned against the outer faces of the recesses A formed in the gun and under such construction the plates, as shown in Fig. 17, will each be provided with a lateral horn or projection a, which horns, as seen in Fig. 16, will occupy a position above the pins 763, and will thus be held in place. By merely swinging the member 76 upon its pivot the fingers may be withdrawn from engagement with the horns a, and the lock-plates removed from the gun.

In Fig. 20, the lock-plates a are shown as occupying a position adjacent the inner walls of the recesses A and held in place by the pins 76 Under such constructions the employment of the horns a is not necessary. The rear face of the member I; is provided with a notch adapted to receive a finger f formed upon the forward end of a slide or latch f 2 carried by the cover-plate When the lock-plates a are in position, the coverplate f is placed beneath the same and the openings A, the rear end of the cover-plate engaging the tang or frame of the gun, and the latch f moved rearwardly to a slight extent, the member it being thrown forwardly so that the nose or finger f may be brought in rear of the notch in the member 7c. The parts being released, they will come to the positions shown in Fig. 1.2, with the finger f 3 in engagement with the notch in the member 75, in which position the pins 7d will also underlie the loch-plates or the horns a thereon, as the case may be, and the parts will occupy the positions shown in Fig. 19, the lock-plates and cover plate being thus held in position by the member 75 and the pins or fingers k carried thereby. In firing the gun, the hammers 0 move forwardly and cause the main springs e and the slides g to likewise travel forwardly, thereby causing the slides g to strike against the lower members k of the ejector scars and to throw the upper portions of the sears into engagement with the ejector hammers i When the gun is broken, the guide and lift rods i under the construction shown in Fig. 1., will be lifted by coming into contact wit fixed por tions of the gun, while with the construction shown in Figs. 12, 18 and 19 the projection 76 will come into contact with the rear ends of he lifter rods and elevate the same, t'iereby throwing the ejector hammers from the ejector sears when the gun fully opened.

Having thus described my invention, wi=at I claim is:

1. In a drop-down, breech-loading firearm, the combination with fore-end ejector mech anism, consisting essentially of spring pressed ejector hammes, hammer guiderods therefor, and ejector for the hammers; of lock-carrying plates fitting in recesses formed in the under side of the body of the firearm; a fixed member secured to the knuckle of he firearm; a pivoted member mounted u on the fined member; a spring for normal y depressing tlie pivoted member; a projection formed upon said pivoted member for engaging the guide-rods; and pins or fingers extending laterally from said pivoted member and adapted to engage the lock-carrying plates and to hold the same in position.

2. In a drop-down, breech-lo ading firearm, the combination with fore-end ejector meel anism consisting essentially of spring-pressed ejector hammers hammer guide-rods, and

ejector sears; of lock-carrying plates fitting in recesses formed in the under side of the body of the firearm; a member fixed to the knuckle of the body; a pivoted springpressed lifter mounted upon said body; pins or fingers extending laterally from said pivoted lifter and adapted to engage the och-carrying plates and to hold the same in place; and a cover-plate provided w l. a spring-pressed latch, said latch making locking engagement with the pivoted lifter when tl e plate is in position.

3. In a drop-down, breech-loading firearm, the combination of a body having recesses formed therein; lock-carrying plates seated in said recesses; a cover-plate; and a spring latch carried by the cover-plate for holding the same in position.

4. In a drop-down, breech-loading fire arm, the combination of a body provided with recesses; lock-carrying plates adapted to be seated in said recesses; a pivoted member mounted in line with the forward end of the recesses; and means carried by said pivoted member for engaging the plates and holding the same in position.

5. In a drop-down, breech-loading firearm, the combination of a body portion pro ided with recesses; lock-carrying plates adapted to be seated in said recesses; a pivoted member located at one end of said recesses; means projecting outwardly from said member in line with one end of the lockcarrying plates when the same are properly positioned; and a spring serving normally to hold said pivoted member in such position that the means camied thereby will retain their proper position with relation to the lock-carrying plates.

6. In a drop-down, breech-loading firearm, the combination of a body portion pro vided with recesses; lock-carrying plates mounted therein, each of said plates being provided with a laterally-projecting horn; a member pivoted adjacent to one end of said recesses; a pin or finger projecting from each side of said member and underlying the horns formed upon the plates; and a spring serving normally to hold said member in such position that the fingers will coact with the horns upon the plates.

7. In a drop-down, breech-loading firearm, the combination of a body provided With recesses; lock-carrying plates mounted in said recesses; ejector mechanism; and a pivoted member secured to the frame of the firearm, said member bein provided with means for holding the lock-carrying plates in position and with means for releasing the ejector mechanism when the firearm is broken.

8. In a drop-down, breech-loading firearm, the combination of a body portion provided with recesses; lock-carrying plates mounted therein; suitable ejector mechanism; a cover-plate; and a spring-pressed pivoted member secured to the gun, said member being provided with means for holding the plates in position, securing the cover plate in place, and releasing the ejector mechanism when the firearm is broken.

9. In a drop-down, breech-loading firearm, the combination of a body portion provided with recesses; lo k-carrying plates adapted to be mounted in said recesses; a pivoted member carried by a fixed portion of the firearm; means carried by said pivoted member for holding the lock-carrying plates in position; a cover-plate; and a springpressed latch carried by the cover-plate and adapted to engage a recess formed in the rear face of the pivoted member.

10. In a dropdown, breech-loading firearm, the combination of body portion provided with recesses; lock-carrying plates mounted in said recesses; a member pivotally mounted upon afixed portion of the firearm; pins or fingers projecting laterally from said member and adapted to engage the lock-carrying plates and to hold the same in position; a cover-plate; a spring-pressed latch carried by the cover-plate and adapted to enter a recess formed in the rear face of the pivoted member; a spring serving normally to hold said pivoted member in its depressed position; an ejector mechanism; andmeans carried by said pivoted member for engaging the ejector iechanism and releasing the same when the firearm is broken.

11. In a drop-down, breech-loading "firearm, the combination of a lock-carrying plate; a hammer mounted upon said plate; a main spring working in conjunction with said hammer; a slide mounted upon the outer end of the spring; an ejector-hammer; a sear cooperating with said ejector-hammer and serving to restrain its action; and a downwardly-projecting member formed upon said sear and standing in alinement with the slide carried by the spring, said slide acting, when the firearm is discharged, to throw the sear into operative position with relation to the ejector-hammer.

12. In a drop-down, breechdoading firearm, the combination of a hammer; a spring for operating the same; a slide mounted upon the forward end of the spring and movable therewith; an ejector hammer; a sear pivoted adjacent to said hammer and provided with a projection adapted to cooperate with the slide aforesaid; and means for raising the ejector hammer free of said sear when the firearm is broken.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

LESLIE BOVVN TAYLOR.

I/Vitnesses JosEPH A. KEENAN, Lns'rnn S. KAFER. 

